India – October 2016

NAIOTH CHILDREN’S HOME NEWS
Dear Sponsor,
Just recently I felt it necessary to make a quick trip to India in response to some Government initiatives that will be and are affecting the Children’s Homes in both Rajahmundry and Sankarapuram, the more urgent of the two needs being in Rajahmundry. I met up with David Abbott from the UK there.
There has been a significant change in the land of India over the last few years. While there is still crushing poverty in many places, especially the rural areas, there have been a number of reform packages put in place by the Government, one of which being to raise the national literacy level in children. As a consequence the Indian Government is encouraging all children to attend public schools and many Indian Orphanages have closed or limited the educational programs they have provided.
While superficially the reforms sound good, unfortunately they offer very little for the lower caste children and the untouchables.
In fact many of those children will receive inadequate education as they continue to be discriminated against because of their caste.
As the city of Rajahmundry has expanded, the Children’s Home has found itself in the middle of a developing commercial zone – a very busy and noisy environment for children. On the up side the property has now become quite valuable. Consequently we have decided to relocate and expand our facility, moving further out into the country to a village in the regions where the children originally lived. Our hope is to continue to provide for their future there.
The plans for the new Children’s Home in the Rajahamundry area begin with preparing for the sale of our present property, land and buildings, and creating a more diverse new facility 30 minutes further out in the villages. The new facility will have significant advantages for the children, their families and relatives. From now on, where possible, we hope to house children in their own homes or those of a near relative. Their education, uniforms, books and school fees will continue to be met by us as they attend local schools. Their welfare will be monitored and we will provide assistance with their needs and to some extent the needs of the family. For this task we will employ widows and local pastors who will monitor the children’s needs. They will provide rice, vegetables and other staples for the family home so that the child and the whole family will be blessed. We are establishing at least five child care centres in adjacent villages which will be known as ‘Rural Family Care Centres’. Many of the children in these villages are from the lower castes or are untouchables. The plan is to help equip and educate these children while living in their own home or village where that is possible. Where children are orphaned or live with abusive or alcoholic parents we will provide a Children’s Home where, as before, all their needs will be provided at our new facility.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?
We are in the process of relocating the children and establishing them in appropriate schools. We have established three Rural Family Care Centres so far where disadvantaged children attending the local Primary and High Schools will come for two hours every morning before school and for two hours every evening. We have appointed tutors to sit with the kids and help them with their homework and provide them with any assistance they may need with their education. These Rural Family Care Centres are designed to help children who are having difficulty at school and provide a breakfast for the children every morning and in the evening a snack which will consist of milk, bournvita (a nutritional milk-additive powder drink like Milo but healthier) and an egg. It’s a big change for us all, but we have a time line which will extend the development of the facility.
Firstly we will finish the relocation and re-establishment of the children in their own village and with their own family or relatives.
Secondly we are in the process of acquiring some land on which we will build a new orphanage facility for those who are unable to live with family. In the meantime we will temporarily place those children at an orphanage operated by Samuel’s brother Paul and continue to support them there.
After we have purchased the land and having met all Government requirements, we hope to begin construction of a new facility, starting with the Children’s Home, then followed by an Adult Training Centre from which we can provide sewing lessons and other skills, and a Tuition Centre for children up
to Year 12. We will also be providing a free Medical Clinic/Triage Centre at the main facility, accessible to the local villagers and free to the poor or by part payment to those who have the capacity to make a contribution.
Samuel, the Indian board of management and the Australian team together with David Abbott all believe this is the way for the future with respect to India’s poor and marginalised. Now, as over the past 20 years, their future is largely in our hands. Our goal remains the same; to provide for their needs, helping them to become all they can be both now and into the future. We are grateful that over the last two decades several thousand children have been helped because of the Children’s Homes. We are honoured to serve some of India’s poor by feeding, clothing, educating and providing medical care and counselling for all who have walked down the more difficult roads of life. We are grateful to the workers who have tirelessly laboured to help them but none of this would have been possible if it were not for you … your provision and prayers opened the door to opportunity and hope to those who had so little. In every way it’s the sponsors who have faithfully provided for the care, the education, and development of so many very underprivileged children. Our commitment is to continue to see each child become all that they can be and one day hopefully to break the bonds of poverty that has threatened to hold them hopelessly captive.
Our prayer is that they will reflect the care and the love you have shown them, to others as they themselves break free from the poverty that has relentlessly rendered them powerless.
So a new day is dawning but the vision remains the same and we are asking for your patience and continued support as we build for the future.
We are still looking forward to taking teams across to India each year and we will still do our best to keep you updated in every area of development. We will be traveling to India again in November as a team of 13, and will let you know about the progress of the new venture as together we help change their future.
As things settle we will be able to review our sponsorship rates. In the meantime, if you allow we would continue to use your Naioth sponsorship payments to fund these Rural Family Care Centres.
Please email John or Jenny if you consent to this at barnesj@internode.on.net
or phone: John (0400260101) or Jenny (0428262039).
– John Barnes

TRIP TO INDIA (NOVEMBER 2016)
We ask for your prayers for the team… 6 from Victoria, 4 from Canberra, 2 from SA and 1 from Cairns. Half the team have been before. The rest are new including two 16 year old young ladies. We will be mixing with young, old, poor and vulnerable people in their rural villages. 600 million people in India live in rural villages. Thank you to all who have given for Christmas gifts and clothing and for the goods to take over with us.
2 Cor 9:12 encourages us that “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God. …And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you because of the surpassing grace God has given you.”

CHRIST SPECIAL SCHOOL NEWS
Thank for your email and funds. Now we are sending new academic year student photos old and new. This year we have started a Hearing Impaired class. A Trained teacher joined with us she is taking care of 7 hearing impaired students. Thank you for your prayer and support.

HOME WORK STUDY CENTRES (IN VILLAGES SURROUNDING CSS)
Students are back to the Homework Study Centres (Tuition Centres) from 1st June 2016 for this academic year. On the request of students in a nearby village, a new centre has been started this year in which about 40 students attend. Currently 6 centres are functioning. About 200 children attend these centres between 5.30pm to 7.30pm from Monday to Saturday. Students from two more villages are asking for a centre in their village. We are praying for the Lord’s guidance in this.
Interacting with the students and teachers, we have learnt that the students and parents/guardians are happy about our work. While discussing with the parents/guardian they expressed that the children’s academic performance has improved and their attitude changed positively as well after
coming to the centres. Many of our students have gained confidence to participate in sports and academic competitions within the school and inter-school competition. We conducted formal parents meeting in one centre on 14 July. About 25 parents participated. In the meeting some of the parents expressed that they wanted to come to-gather as a group for prayers and guidance in parenting skills. The first meeting was held on the following Sunday, 17th July 2016 (about 33 women attended the meeting). The pastor led them with a short message and prayers. They will be meeting every Sunday evening. As this has happened all of a sudden, we are praying for the Lord’s leading in engaging this group. We will be conducting formal parent’s meeting in our other 5 centres in August and looking forward to hear their feedback and needs. Praise God for the new avenues of serving people. Please pray for us to be sensitive in working with the parents’ group and meet their expectation. Children are getting back to schools after the Term 1 break. All seem to have enjoyed the well
earned break. Most of them did not come home in between. Whereas in the previous school/hostel they came home every week end and took couple of days more to stay back at home. We had a get together on Saturday (1 October) from 9.30 to 4.30. We had two youth workers from Chennai. They did a good
job. The local Pastor Thomas of Methodist Church and the Headmaster of CSS also helped to conduct the program. 41 children attended the program and enjoyed singing, watching video and puppet show. It was good that our support children have brought their friends and siblings. All were happy to be
back at CSS.
A past student: Praise the Lord. Jeysri got selected for Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery/Multi Purpose Health Worker course (two year diploma ) in the Christian College of Nursing.
It is a big step for her. Her father and family members are happy that she got into a vocational course and in a good reputed college. She is the first one from her family to go beyond year 12. CSS had been a source of encouragement to her and to her father even after she left CSS 3 years ago when she completed year 10.
Thank you for your prayers and your support while she was in CSS and in Hope Community College (she did one year course with us ‘Diploma in Health Assistance’). Thank you also for supporting and encouraging us in working with such needy young people.
At the Hope College (Hope Typewriting Institute), we celebrated the 70th Independence Day of India on 15th August. God is so good that we have over 40 students learning typing currently.
We are planning to start computer training from 1st Sept onward. Also praying and planning to advertise for typing work to be done as an addition to the Institute to provide on the job training and make small money through the service to support the Institute. Please pray for this.
The Elderly support group meeting is being held on Fridays between 10 am to 2pm at the Church. Thanks particularly for elderly support. On average about 15 elderly individuals gather for activities, including games, singing and praying. They also get their blood checked for glucose and BP by a nurse. The members
are highly thankful for the program. Most of them come from a nearby village and we arrange autos for their transport.
The elderly program went on well as usual at the local Methodist Church. The group wanted us to help them with learning to read and write. From next week onwards we would be focusing on this, first to help them write their names. Couple of middle aged women from the same village came for prayer and joined with the group.

Kind Regards, John and Christina

VALE (FAREWELL) MRS BANU
Mrs Banu, together with her husband, were both retired schoolteachers. They had observed that there were a large number of disabled children who were not able to receive an education so a vision was fostered to be able to provide for them.
To cement this vision they began a school for the “differently able” children in 1993 and this is now what is known as Christ Special School. Since then this school has provided food, shelter, love and education to children who would otherwise be forced to live in poverty and without an education. All this has operated under a very strong Christian ethos. In addition to CSS, Mrs Banu established and ran a ministry to Lepers, to Gypsies and to many elderly women in the area. As well as being a woman of prayer she also spent a great deal of time discipling women to equip them to minister alongside her in these ministries.
It has been the privilege and pleasure of HOTRock to know and support Mrs Banu in her ministries and to be part of the answer to her prayers in enabling these
special children to have a meaningful and God centred life. We will miss her. The team will unveil a commemoration of her when we visit in November.
Mrs Banu has been supported in her ministries by her family and HOTRock and sponsors who will continue supporting these vital ministries. Mrs. Banu died at the end of August 2016 aged 80 and leaves two sons and a daughter, a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law, 4 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.